Pickup baler



Dec. 28,1943. c. F. CRUMB ETA'L 25 61 PI CKUP BALER Filed Spt. 14, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventors Y CharlesE Crumb RusscZZRRanqy Lewis E. Smith Dec. 28, 1943.

c. "F. CRUMB ET AL' Filed Sept. 14, 1940 PICKUP BALERY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F Inventvm CfiarIesECrumb 1215501112 Haney 'LcwisE 5m:

'Dec( 28, 1943. c. F. CRUMB ETAL PICKUP BALER Filed Sept. 14, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 S w wm J m a wmx ww n REG I? 15 T m c. F. CRUMB-ET AL 2,337,739

PICKUP BALER Filed Sept. 14, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 b w 5 4 Wm .Z I 0 l Z mfixm ww D5 Q an m E IBM. F q www m? mmw V L ov a .m m mw mm. mm S L an. g Y .E. mm mm on E ww .Q. TR m mm. wm Mm: M @m p w Dec; 28, 19 43.

Patented Dec. 28, 1943 i '1 O F F l C E PICKUP BALER Application September 14, 1940, Serial No. 356,794

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a pick-up baler. More specifically it relates to a Supporting framework for a pick-up connected to a baler unit.

Pick-up balers are known which include a baler unit mounted on wheels and a pick-up unit mounted on a framework which is carried by an axle of the baler unit extended beyond the baler unit. Very frequently devices of this sort are awkward and hard to handle because they are very heavy. The present invention is concerned with a simplification of the supporting framework for a pick-up unit which connects the pick-up unit to the baler unit.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved pick-up baler.

A further object is the provision ofa simplified supporting structure for a pick-up unit carried at the side of the lbaler unit.

Another object is to provide an improved trough construction connecting a pick-up unit with a baler unit.

AccOrding'to the present invention a pick-up unit is carried at the side of a baler unit by means of framework which is pivotally attached at two points at one side of the baler unit and is supported at a third point on a single wheel. A trough connects the pick-up unit and the baler unit and is composed of two sections, one of which is rigidly secured to the baler unit and the other of which is pivo-tally secured to the first section and is loosely connected to the framework supporting the pick-up.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the improved pick-up baler of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of a modified form;

Figure 4 is a view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view taken along the line 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a view taken along the line 6-5 of Figure 2;

Figure '7 is a view taken along the line 5-1 ofFigure 2;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing a modified form of drive for the pick-up unit; and,

Figure 9 is a side View of the'modified form of Figure 8, showing in part a structure like that shown in Figure 3.

The reference character Ill designates a mobile frame in the form of a baler unit Which includes a baling chamber and a reciprocating and 39 by means of a pin 4!.

plunger not shown since they form no part of the present invention, and a feeder head ll.

Power for operating the baling unit is supplied by an engine [2 mounted on the unit. The unit is supported on transverse axles l4 and [5 which are in turn carried by Wheels 16, ll, l8, and is. The baling unit includes an angle member 28 carriedbymeans of a plate 2! (Figure 4) mounted upon'the axle It. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, braces 22 and 23 extend outwardly from the angle member '29 on opposite sides of the axle M. 'A plate 24 is carried by the braces 22 and 23 outside the wheel [6 and also supported on the end of the axle I 4 by means of a casting 25 pinned to the end of the axle Ill. As seen in Figure 4, the plate 24 is also supported at its upper end by a brace 2411,. As seen'in Figure 6, a gear 26 is mounted on the end of the axle I adjacent the casting 25 and is secured to the wheel l6 so that it rotates with the wheel. The gear 26 engages a'gear 21secured to a shaft 28 rotatably mounted in a bearing '29 secured to the plate 24. A member 30 is slidably connected on the shaft 28 and is urged toward a member 3! by means of a spring '32. The members 30 and 3! form a clutch. Member 3| carries a sprocket 33 driving achain 34 which in turn drives the pick-up to be described presently. The parts just described constitute aground drive for the pick-up. As seen in Figure 6, the wheel i6 is rotatably mounted on the axle l4 and is held against axial movement'with respect to the axle by means of a collar 35 secured to the aXle I 4 and embraced by a portion 35 of the gear 26 securing the wheel to the gear 25 and by a hub 31 also secured to the wheel. Disengagement of the clutch members 39 and 3| permits the ground wheel it to rotate Without driving the pick-up unit.

As previously described the plate 24 positioned outside the wheel I6 is carried by the braces 22, 23, and E la and by the axle M by means of the casting 25. As seen in Figure 2, angle pieces 35 and 39 are secured to the plate 24 in such a manner that there is a space between them into which the end of an angle member '40 extends. The member lil is held loosely between the pieces 38 As seen in Figure 1 the angle member 40 extends generally outwardly from the plate 24 and is secured to another angle member 42 by means of a plate 43. The members 4G and 42 are supported by means of a caster wheel 44 carried on an axle 45. The angle member $2 is connected at its other end by means of a plate 46 to a third angle member 4'! connected in turn to a mid-portion of the angle member 46 by means of a plate 43. A piece 49 extends from the connection of the angle members 52 and 41 at the plate 46 and is loosely connected to a bracket 50 carried at the side of the baler unit if! by means of a pin As seen in Figures 1 and 4, a member 52 is secured at 53 and 54 to the angle members 4'! and M] so as to extend parallel to the angle member 42. The member 52 has upwardly extending end portions 55 and 55 which pivotally support the upper end of a pick-up unit 51, as at 51'. The pick-up unit 51 need not be described in detail since per se it forms no part of the present invention. It includes a cylinder 58 carried at the lower end near the ground and chains 59 and 60 between which extends a series of transverse bars BI which move across an inclined fioor 62. As previously stated the chain 34 is driven by the ground wheel IS. The chain passes over idlers 63 and 64 and drives a sprocket 65 secured to the pick-up cylinder 58. The lower end of the pickup 51 is adjustably supported at one end as shown in Figure 2 by a piece 63 connected to a hand lever 61 secured to and pivoted to a shaft 68 extending the width of the pick-up 51. The lever 31 carries a detent mechanism 39 fixable to any one of a number of recesses ID in an arcuate member II. The weight of the pick-up is counterbalanced by means of a spring I2 connected at one end to a part 12' secured to the arcuate member II and at the other end to the lever 31 by means of a link 13 connected to a lever M connected in turn to the spring 12. The lever I4 is secured to a sleeve 14 journaled on a pin I5 in-the space between the member II and a member 16. Figure 2 shows the adjustable supporting of only one side of the lower end of the pick-up 51, the other side is supported in a similar way, there being a stub lever secured to the shaft 68 and a connection between the stub lever and the pick-up. By adjustment of the lever 61 the pick-up cylinder 58 may be moved toward or away from the ground.

As seen in Figures 1 and 2 a trough or platform 15 extends between the baling unit and the upper end of the pick-up unit 51. This trough or platform comprises a section 11 and a section E8. The section 11 is secured to the baler unit ID by means of supporting members 19 and 85. As seen in Figure 1, the member 1.9 is secured to the side of the baler unit by being attached to the portion of the bracing member 22 immediate- 1y adjacent its point of attachment to the baling unit. The member I9 is reenforced by a brace 19" extending downwardly from a connection with an angle piece 8! forming part of the baling unit. The supporting member 80 is secured as shown in Figure 2 to the plate 24 by means of a bracket -82. The member 80 in the modification of Figure 3 is connected to the plate 24 by bolts 83 which incidentally connect the casting 25 to the plate 24. The section I8 is pivotally connected to the fixed section I! by means of a pin 84 mounted in bearings 85 on the section 11. In the modification in Figure 2 the section 18 is connected to the vertical portion 55 of the cross member52 by means of a link 35 pivotally connected at 51 to the portion 55 of the cross member 52 and at 88 to a reenforcing member 89 forming part of the section 18. In the modification of Figure 3 the section I8 is slidably mounted by means of supports 9!! on a rod 9| secured to the portion 55 of the cross member 52 and to a cross-brace 92 connecting the portions 55 and the angle member 40.

Positioned at the rear of the fixed section TI is an operators platform 93. This platform includes a pair of planks 94 supported at one end on a strap 95 carried by an angle member 95 secured to the section 71 and reenforced by a brace 98 and at the other end on an angle member 89 extending from the plate 23, and reenforced by a piece I59. The sections 1.1 and I8 each include a floor portion It! and a back portion M2. The back portion I52 of the section l8 has a part I83 of triangular shape overlapping the back portion I02 of the section T. on the inner side. One corner of the triangular portion I03 extends beneath a guard I54 secured to the back portion I02 of the section I? so as to be held thereby.

The operation of the pick-up baler will now be described. The baling unit ii! and the pick-up unit are moved over the ground by some separate source of power such as a tractor, not shown, attached to a draft member I65 secured to the baling unit. The rotation of the ground wheel I6 causes the chain 34 to drive the pick-up cylinder 53 and the chains 59 and 60 and thereby move the slat 5i upwardly over the floor 62. Hay is thereby picked up from windrows on the ground and moved upwardly over the floor 62 and deposited on the platform sections 71 and 18. An operator standing on the platform 93 moves the hay along the platform sections I1 and I8 into the baler unit where it is acted upon by the feeder head II and the plunger not shown, so as to be formed into bales. If the caster wheel 45 encounters unevennesses in the ground or moves over ground at a different level from that passed over by the ground wheels I5, II, I8, and I9, the

framework supporting the pick-up unit 51 rises and falls as may be required, the pivotal connections of the member 30 with the brackets 38 and 39 by the pin GI and the piece 53 with the bracket 55 by the pin 5% permitting the necessary up and down movement. The pins 4i and 5| are spaced longitudinally of the baler unit, and the pivotal movement of the framework is about a generally longitudinal horizontal axis. This movement is also facilitated by the supporting of the pick-up unit 51 on only a single caster wheel 44. On Figure 1 a line has been drawn between the caster wheel 44 and the ground wheel I9 of the baler unit. This line, it will be observed, passes approximately through a mid-point of the pick-up cylinder 58. Thus the wheels I9 and it act substantially as gauge wheels would act which were positioned along the line of the cylinder 58. Being in front of the cylinder and behind it, they gauge in an approximate way the ground over which the cylinder passes. This arrangement of a caster wheel supporting the pick-up unit positioned behind the pick-up cylinder 58 permits a simplified supporting framework for the pickup unit. The angle members 40 and 41 are shorter with the wheel M behind the pickup cylinder 58 than they would be if the wheel were in front of the cylinder. The substitution of a feeders platform in the form of the floor portion IBI composed of the sections 11'. and I8 for a regular cross conveyor is of a considerable advantage in that it prevents the loss of various component parts such as seeds from the material to be baled.

Figures 8 and 9 show a modified form of drive which has sprockets and a chain instead of gears. A ground wheel I55 carries a sprocket ID? on a hub extension I83 on the inner side of the wheel. A chain I59 is wrapped around the sprocket I01 and also an idler gear I I0 carried on a bracket to part 19 (Figures l and reenforcing member H5 connected to members 4 H3 and HQ. Member H4 is supported on the wheel I66, The member H6 is secured to member H4 and to angle member 28 in the manner of brace 23 (Figure l) and so completes the bracing. A U-shaped member in and spring H8 connect the bracket Hi and sprocket H0 with a portion of the baler unit framework, not shown, so that the chain It!) is held tight. The underside of the chain I09 meshes with a sprocket H9 mounted on a shaft I23 journaled in members H3 and H4. A slip clutch l2! conmeets the sprocket M9 to the shaft I20. A sprocket I22 is mounted on the shaft I26 outside of the member H4 and is connected to the shaft by means of an overrunning clutch I23. A chain IN is wrapped around sprocket E22 and is connected with the pick-up unit in the same manner as chain 34 (Figure 1). Drive is transmitted from the ground wheel it through the sprocket Nil, the chain Hi9, the sprocket H9, the clutch Hi, the shaft 520, the clutch I23, the sprocket I22, and the chain I24 to the pickup unit. If something stops the pick-up device without a stopping of movement of the machine over the ground, the slip clutch prevents injury to the pick-up device by allowing the pick-up device to stop without a stopping of the ground wheel we. The overrunning clutch I23 permits the machine to run backwards without driving the pick-up unit.

It will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure that a new and novel pick-up baler has been provided. The intention is to limit the invention only within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a mobile crop-treating unit, a mobile pick-up device positioned alongside of the crop-treating unit and including an elevating conveyor extending to the level of the top of the unit and ground-engaging supporting means, a horizontal means extending transversely of the unit at the level of the top thereof from the top of the elevating conveyor to the top of the unit, over which means crops are forwarded from the elevating conveyor to the croptreating unit, means mounting the last-mentioned means on the crop-treating unit, means coupling the pick-up device to the crop-treating unit at two points spaced longitudinally thereof and spaced from the forwarding means for enabling the pick-up device to be driven alongside the crop-treating unit and for cooperating with the ground-engaging supporting means of the pick-up device to support the pick-up device entirely independently of the forwarding means.

2. In combination, a mobile baling unit having a feed opening in the top thereof, a mobile pick-up device positioned alongside of the baling unit and including an elevating conveyor extending to the level of the top of the baling chamber and ground-engaging supporting means, a means extending transversely of the baling unit from the elevating conveyor to the feed opening in the baling unit, over which means crops are forwarded from the elevating conveyor to the baling unit, means mounting the forwarding means on the baling unit, means coupling the pick-up device to the baling unit at two points spaced longitudinally thereof and spaced from the forwarding means for enabling the pick-41p device to be drawn alongside the baling unit and for cooperating with the groundengaging supporting means of the pick-up device to support the pick-up device entirely independently of the forwarding means.

3. In combination, a mobile crop-treating unit,

amobile pick-up device positioned adjacent the crop-treating unit, ground-engaging means for supporting at least a substantial portion of the weight of the pick-up device independently of the crop-treating unit, means flexibly connecting the crop-treating unit and the pick-up device for causing them to be moved conjointly, means over which crops are forwarded from the pickup device to the crop-treating unit, said means including a first horizontal section adjacent the crop-treating unit and a second horizontal section spaced from the crop-treating unit, means mounting the first section on the crop-treating unit, means flexibly supporting the second section partially on the first section, and means flexibly supporting the second sectionpartially on the pick-up device.

4. In combination, a crop-treating unit having ground-engaging supporting means for permitting movement of the unit in a certain direc-- tion over the ground, a pick-up device positioned alongside the crop-treating unit, ground-engaging means for supporting at least a substantial portion of the weight of the pick-up device independently of the crop-treating unit, means flexibly connecting the pick-up device and the crop-treating unit for causing movement of the crop-treating unit in its said direction to effect a similar movement of the pick-up device, means over which crop material is conveyed transversely of the direction of movement of the crop-treating device from the elevating conveyor to the top of the crop-treating unit, said means including a first horizontal section adjacent the crop-treating device and a second horizontal section adjacent the pick-up device, means rigidly mounting the first section on the croptreating device, means flexibly supporting the second section partially on the first section, and means flexibly supporting the second section partially on the crop-treating unit.

5. In combination, a crop-treating unit having ground-engaging supporting means for permitting movement of the unit in a certain direction over the ground, a pick-up device positioned alongside the crop-treating unit and including an elevating conveyor extending to the level of the top of the crop-treating unit, ground-engaging means for supporting at least a substantial portion of the weight of the pick-up device independently of the crop-treating unit, means flexibly connecting the pick-up device and the crop-treating unit for causing movement of the crop-treating unit in its said direction to efiect a similar movement of the pick-up device, means over which crop material is conveyed transversely of the direction of movement of the crop-treating device from the elevating conveyor to the top of the crop-treating unit, said means including a first horizontal section adjacent the top of the crop-treating device and a second horizontal section adjacent the top of the elevating conveyor, means rigidly mounting the first section on the crop-treating device, means flexibly supporting the second section partially on the first section, and means flexibly supporting the second section partially on the crop-treating unit.

6. In combination, a mobile baler unit having vating conveyor to the feed opening in the top of the baling unit, said means comprising a first horizontal section adjacent the baling unit and feed opening thereof, a second horizontal section spaced from the baling unit, means rigidly mounting the first section on the baling unit, means flexibly supporting the second section on the first section, and means flexibly mounting the second section on the pick-up device.

CHARLES F. CRUMB. RUSSELL R. RANEY. LEWIS E. SMITH. 

